Ryth the Herald of Undeath
This character was originally created to be a villain for a small plot, however, he grew into something bigger. This character is currently owned by user Startraphell. Ryth's Voice Biography Humble Beginnings Ryth was born in the early second age, the exact date of his birth is unknown. He was born into a family of farmers, and spent almost the entirety of his childhood there. However, he had a hunger for adventure. At the age of 16, he left his home in search of fame and glory. At age 17, he had become knowledgable in quite a few aspects of the world, and had gained proficiency with a sword. However, simple adventure wasn't enough to quench his thirst for whatever it was he wanted. This, he soon found out, was power, so at age 18, he applied to become an apprentice in The Order, an early organization of necromancers. During this time, he learned many valuable skills that he would come to rely on for thousands of years to come. He studied basic elemental magic, and later the ancient magicks, which were not ancient at the time. Finally, after he had learned all of this, he was allowed to study the main art of the order: Necromancy. He was aged 40 when he picked up his first tome on the subject. Years passed. Ryth had risen to the head of the order, at the age of 83. He had become a skilled mage, and an even better necromancer. Though, this was not enough. Ryth, in his old age, had become very much aware of his mortality, and impeding death. He was terrified. He began to scour through his library, searching for something that could help prolong his life. Anything. Eventually, gathering together all of his notes on the subject of Necromancy, an idea came to him: To hide his soul from death, preventing the Reaper from taking it when his time to die finally came. The mage set to work on the development of this incredibly difficult, and dangerous ritual. Lichdom It took several years to prepare the phylactery alone. By the time he was done with the rest, he was at Death's door. At long last, everything was ready. After carefully preparing the ritual, chanting the chant, casting the spell, and drinking the potion, the old man took a deep breath, took the hilt of the knife, and stabbed himself. He did not know if this would work. He did know that he did everything right. The chances of failure might have been low, but they were not insignificant. Alas, luckily for him, it did work. As the old man opened his eyes, he felt like a new man. The pain of his cells slowly dying had gone, replaced by an odd, tingling sensation. The cough that he had developed was no longer existent, gone along with his need to breathe. He felt no hunger. He felt no exhaustion. He finally realized that the existence that he had been living was flawed. How could one see this sort of bliss with any eye, other than the eye of envy. The next couple of years were spent in deep research. Ryth had become immortal, but he was not alive. A thought had occurred to him: to create a living immortal. One that had did not require sacrifice of any kind to make. One that could regenerate itself from any harm, rather than just soak it up like he did. If he could figure out how to do this, he could become the most well-recognized being in the world. Hell, he would become a hero. The man who invented immortality. However, the further he researched, the more questions he had. The idea contradicted itself. To make someone immortal, their soul had to be somehow protected from Death. To do this, the soul had to be extracted, and this could not be done without killing the entity. This was the dilemma of the Lich. An impasse without a pass around it. The Lich had focused on his work so long that he did not even realize that he had spent over 500 years deep in his research. By now, most of his skin and flesh had fallen from his bones. It was a flaw with a design of his own. He made himself immortal, but not ageless. And there was a great difference between the two. This was when Ryth decided to step outside of the great order of dark magic that he had become the head of. He was surprised at how much the world had changed. He spent the next few hundred years wandering around, deep in contemplation. He had become a feared legend. Stories spread of the "Skeleton Man", a tall, creepy being that wandered the land. They said that seeing him would cause bad luck to befall your entire family for generations. The Lich did not mind. At this time, he had come across the vast Empire, run by the recluse god Zaros. Though greatly impressed by their accomplishments, he did not envy the people. They lived in fear of the very creatures that protected the empire: the Demons and the Mahjarrat. In particular, the demons. He saw the humans being greatly oppressed by the entities that called themselves Chthonians. He saw the harsh laws that made the humans second, if not third class citizens. This disgusted him. It is true that an orderly empire was a good empire, but there was such a thing as too orderly. The Gods Wars As it turned out, Ryth was not the only one who had these thoughts. Zamorak, a Mahjarrat very close to Zaros began to insight rebellion among the people. Some he told that Zaros was not a strong leader. Others he told that the empire was unfair. Ryth heard of this man by word of mouth. The bravery of this man to do this. Ryth admired the Mahjarrat, and even idolized him. Ryth did his part, and spread further rumors about the ideals of Zamorak. Soon, all who were willing to listen to him were also ready to rally behind him. Ryth was beginning to attract an army. Soon, Zaros mysteriously vanished, along with Zamorak, and the most powerful human within the empire: General Viggora. Rumors started to be spread. Some of these rumors said that Zaros had died. That he was killed by Zamorak and that Zamorak had gone to Infernus to do battle with Zaros's demonic servants. Other rumors had said the opposite, that Zaros had killed Zamorak and that he had gone to Infernus to battle with Zamorak's subordinates. It was a long wait. But it was worthwhile. Soon enough, Zamorak reappeared, sporting a brand new costume and appearance, and an army of liberated demons. When he called his followers to rid the world of the remnants of Zaros's influence, they obeyed, and they followed. Cities burned, waves of soldiers fell to the ground, dead, souls were consumed by demons and powerful mages alike. Soon, Zamorak's, Saradomin's, Bandos's, and Armadyl's armies stood at the foot of the ruins of Forinthy. They had various feelings in their hearts. Some held joy for the pure destruction that had been caused. Some could not comprehend. Some mourned the dead. Some went insane on the spot. Ryth felt nothing. And how could he. Feeling had long been beyond him. If he felt something about it, he would go mad with the feelings. He simply stood there, and watched, as the four gods got up in the distance. As they brushed themselves off at the brim of the newly formed crater. As Guthix rose from the ground and impaled his blade into the Earth, banishing the four beings from the world forever. As the living lived, and as the dying died. The God Wars had ended. The Cult of Ryth Ryth's story did not end with this. Battling continued a short bit longer as many members of their respective armies drew away. Soon, nobody was bothering to fight anymore. Everyone had had enough. They wanted peace. And Ryth agreed with them. For once, he had had enough of the killing. While in death, mortal beings would be his servants, it brought perspective to him. His immortality gave him a distinct feelings for mortality. His own endless life made him realize the fleeting lives of the mortals he observed. He decided to become just that. And observer. Her vowed to cease his interference with mortal affairs and to just watch events unfold as they did. He retreated back to the remnants of his academy, taking what students that remained to instruct, and to learn. There, at least for a while, he kept his vow of non-interference, serving as more of an icon for his order than anything else. However, this was soon to end. While he was an icon, he was a very effective one. Some began to see him as something more than just a powerful undead. Rumors began to circulate that Ryth was not just a lich. That Ryth was, in fact, Zamorak himself, observing how his followers operated. Biding his time before returning and wreaking havoc on the world. They began, of course, to treat him as such, despite his protests. Ryth eventually came to just accept this, and stopped protesting, seeing as his followers would not listen. However, soon, he found out something that made him realize that this was a mistake. He found his followers creating a new body to place him into. A body made of pure necromantic energy. A body that soon after took on a life of it's own. The Empty The body awoke, and attacked it's creators, in a feral hunger. The Empty had awoken. This was a creature unlike the world had ever seen. It was a horror beyond imagination, constantly shifting it's form. Constantly seeking power. Constantly hungry. The Empty had been moulded to fit Ryth's soul. As such, it never felt complete, trying to consume more and more souls to fill itself. As it made it's way through the Academy, if stumbled upon Ryth's Phylactery. The container holding the soul made it realize it's purpose. It had to consume it, to become whole once more. Ryth, of course, could not let this happen. He intervened, and a battle began. Claw on Blade, they fought, each being a proper match for the other. After many, many days of combat, the beast, incomplete, finally collapsed, unable to sustain itself any longer. Ryth had won. The End of a Reign As the beast lay dead, Ryth looked around. The Order, that he so prized, was gone. In a few hours, all of the mortal beings in the Academy had been killed by the monstrosity that they had created. Ryth closed his eye, and exhaled, despite having neither eyes, nor lungs. This was the end. His life held no purpose any more. All he had built to this point was gone. He was alone. He shook his head and thought to himself. What was he to do now. What was he to create. He realized that there was nothing. He could not make anymore. His order had made a mistake. A grave one. One that ended them all. He could not make a new order. So then a thought came to him. What if he sat down, and skipped an age. To a time where he would be forgotten? He could rebuild when he woke. Make a new name for himself. Attract only those whom he really understood. And so he did. He sat down on the throne as he had for so long. He looked around. And he slept. Re-Awakening The Journey to Oo'glog Ryth participated in the seemingly pointless kicking of a cabbage of pure gold from Lumbridge to Oo'glog. The journey took a month, and was relatively uneventful. The importance of this event is questioned by many. The Blood Moon Party One day, Ryth received a mysterious invitation to a masquerade party. Despite not exactly knowing how the sender managed to find his address, he decided to attend, wearing his old armor and helmet as his disguise. Heavily suspecting a trap of some kind, the Lich also brought a sword and shield. The party kicked off with seeming normality. There were introductions, food, and dancing. However, towards the end, things began to get odd. The hosts began to make deals with the visitors, asking them to allow them to grant any wish, in exchange for something. Soon, it came Ryth's turn, and the Lich asked for the world. In exchange, a life was requested. Seeing the amazingly good deal, Ryth accepted. He was never given the opportunity to have his wish granted, however. Soon after this, the hosts of the event all turned into scorpion-like demons. Naturally, some of the patrons attacked them, however, it was no use, as the demons proved to be of much greater power than anyone there at the time. However, things escalated as a truly massive Chthonian appeared, triggering cannon fire from the Faladorian guard. Ryth, having seen much worse during his service in the God Wars, took the appearance of the demon with a grain of salt, managing to offend the monstrosity in doing so. A few moments after he stated his thoughts about the thing's appearance, he was teleported almost a hundred feet above the Rising Sun Inn, sending him crashing through both the roof, and second floor. In the process of the fall, Ryth lost hold of the card he was given to allow him to contact the demon whom he had made the deal with, taking a chance to attain his dream of his life away from him. The Daughter of the Lich The Zamorakian Council Ryth had not been involved for a very long time. Too long for his taste. Everyone had forgotten him, and he was getting bored. He had been involved with politics before. He knew how to do things. However. No opportunities came for a long time. Until, that is, the Zamorakian Council was announced. A council of important leaders in Zamorak's forces. Considering that his forces outnumbered any living army in the world, he decided to participate. He arrived at the Kinshra secret base under Taverly, slightly late due to unavoidable travel lag. He was greeted by two lords of the kinshra, a demon assassin, and a certain insufferable Mahjarrat. The matters discussed were not of too too great importance to Ryth, but he participated, considering that he was not longer the only Zamorakian in the room, and it was not only his issues that needed to be addressed. One of these issues seemed to anger the present Mahjarrat, who then left. Ryth, not trusting him, proceeded to bring up his issue. His crypt, which was once located in the idea place to launch a horde, was now located in the middle of nowhere. Appearance Facial His face appears to be an ancient skull, however, he has a single gemstone in his left eye. Whenever he uses magic, this gem lights up, depending on the level of magic he is using, ranging from royal blue to deep crimson. He also has a single golden tooth. Bodily Ryth used to look like a human skeleton at one point, but this is no longer the case. After countless years, and countless battles, much of his skeletal structure has been replaced with bones from different creatures. Among them dragons, trolls, and ogres. Currently, Ryth stands 8 feet tall. He is very thin, and appears deceivingly lanky. He wears a dark, grey tunic and a long cloak designed to look like a burial shroud. Personality Ryth recognizes himself as a villain. He is rarely serious about anything that he doesn't see as a threat, and often mocks people that he doesn't see as worthwhile. He is known to be very curious about pretty much everything that he doesn't understand. However, Ryth is also a cold-blooded killer. He will not hesitate to kill a person who he doesn't like. He will, however, draw the line at children. Ryth refuses to kill any child under the age of 18. This might be a weakness, but this might also demonstrate that he does retain a certain level of morality. Over the course of his life, the lich has distanced himself from humanity, standing on the sidelines and observing the evolution of the race. As such, he has seen the entirety of the flaws and the weaknesses of humanity, giving him a cynical outlook on the species, and by extension, the world in it's entirety. As a result, he feels a compulsive need to fix it. He also despises other liches. After events that are described in "The Cult of Ryth" came to pass, he has come to despise others of his kind. He feels that this power should be nobody but his, as he feels that he is the only one who can use it responsibly. Because of this, he will go out of his way to locate, and kill any and all liches that he knows about. His sense of morality is twisted, to be put lightly. He often sees things in the colors of black, and white. Good and evil. He thinks that evil should, without exception, be punished harshly, and good be rewarded greatly. However, he has made a few exceptions to this, namely for people he holds a deep respect for. Abilities In all the years that the Lich has been alive, he has picked up a great number of skills to aid him in combat and otherwise. This is a list of most of them. Magical Mastery Ryth has become a powerful master of magic during his long life, displaying skills ranging from telekinesis to boiling a dragon in it's own blood. He is capable of casting combination spells of all 4 regular elements, and any combinations of them individually. He is also very adept at the art of telekinesis, it being the first form of magic that he chose to learn. Ancient Magicks Having been born during a time when this type of magic was prominent, it was of course, one of the things he studied when he was an apprentice in The Order. Gradually, over the years, he has managed to master the ancient elements enough to be able to cast triple combination spells with any of the 4 elements. Necromancy One of the most powerful arts at Ryth's disposal. Being a master of the art of necromancy, he can produce most of the undead horrors that the art has become synonymous with. He considers his greatest achievement to be Lichdom. Ryth seems to easily be able to resurrect a variety of beings, be it simply back to life, or as a minion. Immense Knowledge Ryth possesses an entire library (location unspecified) filled with books that he himself wrote on various subjects. He knows a great deal about smithing techniques, magic, architecture, other continents, the Abyss, demonology, necromancy, elves, and the Zarosian Empire. It should, however, be noted that even though he knows this much, he cannot always apply it, as is the case with smithing, as even though he is an expert on the matter, he cannot smith a butter knife for himself. Unique Anatomy After many years, Ryth sustained great injuries. Some of them removed various bones. As a result, he replaced many. One can say that he is not at all the man he once was. Most of his bones come from durable creatures such as dragons, ogres and trolls. He claims to have possessed a tail and wings at some point. His fingers are composed of various claws, both index fingers coming from a ripper demon. His skull apparently comes from a man named Tom who's grave he dug up. It should be noted that Ryth can preform tasks with his limbs that can only be accomplished as a skeleton, such as turning his head 360 degrees, and bending his joints backwards. Swordsmanship Ryth took up swordsmanship in his spare time, and has become quite good at it. His weapons of choice are a mithril sword, and a heraldic steel shield, decorated with adamant. This however, is not something that he uses often, as he much prefers the versatility of magic. Trivia * He claims to be a villain. * This character satires stereotypical villains from media, by doing everything right. As a result, he ends up being sort of an antihero. * He sinks in water. * He possesses a work-in-progress skeletal horror that comes in the form of a throne. * His eye is inspired by Sans from Undertale. * His body is no longer composed of any bones that originally came from him. * If Ryth were an NPC, his combat level would be 697, as Ryth is weaker than Nomad when it comes to raw power, but he matches the mage in terms of skill. * Ryth is one of the few characters to be kicked out of an even due to the fact that he was ruining the ooc mood. * While Ryth is technically a member of the Ashen Covenant, he is only so because he's tempted by the knowledge. Quotes Special Thanks * Roraria: Proofreading Ryth's story for conceptual flaws and the like, and helping pick out a theme. * Wiz: For converting that confounded audio file into a .OGG * Rhys: For going the absolute best to see if Ryth conformed to Lich lore, no matter how custom-made it was. Sources External Links Category:Necromancers Category:Undead Category:Lich Category:Mysterious Characters Category:Zamorakian Category:Ancient Magic user Category:Mage Category:Characters Category:Antagonist Category:Dark Magic user Category:Members of the Ashen Covenant